Ze'ev Jabotinsky | |
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Ze'ev Jabotinsky
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Born |
Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky 18 October 1880 Odessa,Russian Empire |
Died | 4 August 1940 Hunter, New York, United States |
(aged 59)
Resting place | 1940–1964: New Montefiore Cemetery, New York, United States 1964–present: Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem, Israel 31°46′26″N 35°10′50″E / 31.77389°N 35.18056°E |
Residence | until 1904: Odessa from 1904: Saint Petersburg |
Nationality | Russia |
Education | Law |
Alma mater | Sapienza University of Rome |
Occupation | Journalist, writer, military leader and political activist |
Known for | Creating Jewish (and later Israeli) right-wing secular politics; head of Betar |
Spouse(s) | Hanna Markovna Halpern (m. 1907–40) |
Awards | Member of the Order of the British Empire (1919) |
Ze'ev Jabotinsky, MBE (Hebrew: זאב ז'בוטינסקי Ze'ev Zhabotinski; born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, Russian: Влади́мир Евге́ньевич Жаботи́нский; 18 October 1880, Odessa – 4 August 1940, Hunter, New York), was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist leader, author, poet, orator, soldier and founder of the Jewish Self-Defense Organization in Odessa. With Joseph Trumpeldor, he co-founded the Jewish Legion of the British army in World War I. Later he established several Jewish organizations in what was then called Palestine, including Beitar, HaTzohar and the Irgun.
Jabotinsky was born Vladimir Yevgenyevich (Yevnovich) Zhabotinsky in Odessa,Russian Empire (modern Ukraine) into an assimilated Jewish family. His father, Yevno (Yevgeniy Grigoryevich) Zhabotinsky, hailed from Nikopol, Ukraine. He was a member of the Russian Society of Sailing and Trade and was primarily involved in wheat trading. His mother, Chava (Eva Markovna) Zach (1835–1926), came from Berdychiv. Jabotinsky's older brother (Myron) died in childhood. His sister, Tereza (Tamara Yevgenyevna) Zhabotinskaya-Kopp, founded a private, female secondary school in Odessa. In 1885 the family moved to Germany due to his father's illness, returning a year later after his father's death.
Raised in a Jewish middle-class home, Jabotinsky was educated in Russian schools. Although he studied Hebrew as a child, he wrote in his autobiography that his upbringing was divorced from Jewish faith and tradition. Chava Zhabotinskaya opened a store in Odessa selling stationery, and enrolled young Vladimir in the city's gymnasium. Jabotinsky did not finish school, having become involved in journalism. In 1896 he began writing articles for a major local Russian newspaper, the Odessa Leaflet, and was sent to Italy and Switzerland as a correspondent. He also worked with the Odessa News. Jabotinsky was a childhood friend of Russian journalist and poet Korney Chukovsky, and attended Chukovsky's 1903 wedding to Maria Goldfeld.